Recreation

The Monongahela National Forest comprises roughly a million acreas of National Forest System lands in West Virginia and lies within 400 miles of an estimated 96,000,000 people. An approximate 1.3 million visitors come to the Monongahela National Forest each year.

The national importance of the recreation resource of the Monongahela has been recognized through the designation of the Spruce Knob – Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area, the first NRA in the Forest Service, National Scenic Byway status for the Highland Scenic Highway, and eight Wilderness Areas.

The landscape goals for management of the Monongahela are for a largely natural appearing and diverse forest, which provides outstanding dispersed recreation opportunities and supporting developed facilities. Dispersed recreation opportunities abound for hiking, backpacking, fishing, hunting, mountain biking and so on. Developed sites provide the tourism destination facilities and base camps so important to the efforts of local Convention and Visitor Bureaus, local communities, and other non-government agencies. Forest Plan Management Prescriptions favor non-motorized recreation for ecological reasons.

The Monongahela National Forest has prepared a Recreation Facility Analysis and a Five-year Proposed Program of Work. The purpose of the analysis and program of work is to provide direction so that developed recreation sites can be brought up to standard and maintained over the long term within expected budgets. For more information see: